Good outdoor range. Weatherproof. Power over Ethernet (PoE). Three operating modes.

Cons

Pricey. 2.4GHz only. Awkward setup procedure. Sparse documentation.

Bottom Line

The Startech 2.4GHz Outdoor Wireless-N Access Point is a versatile, albeit pricey, weatherproof access point that delivers good outdoor range performance.

If you want to bring wireless connectivity to the great outdoors, consider a weatherproof access point (AP) such as the Startech 2.4GHz Outdoor Wireless-N Access Point (R300WN22MOD) ($214.99). Clad in metal, with sealed port enclosures, the R300WN22MOD is capable of maximum transfer rates of 300Mbps using 2x2 radio technology, but it can only operate on the 2.4GHz radio band, and it's expensive for a single-band access point. It offers good outdoor coverage and Power over Ethernet (PoE) capabilities, but it's short on documentation and complicated to set up.

Design and Features
Like the Startech 5GHz Outdoor Wireless-N Access Point (R300WN22MOD5), the R300WN22MOD has a gray, die-cast aluminum enclosure measuring 2.3 by 3.9 by 6.3 inches (HWD) and weighing 24.2 ounces. The front end of the enclosure has two sealed 10/100 Ethernet ports; one port connects to your router via the included PoE injector, and the other is a pass-through LAN port that may be used to connect to another PoE device, such as a security camera. At 0.75 by 2 by 1 inches (HWD), the PoE injector is a small I/O dongle with a power jack, a data-in LAN port that connects to your router, and a data-out LAN port that provides power and network connectivity to the access point via an Ethernet cable.

Nestled between the LAN ports are LED indicators for signal strength (when used in Bridge and Repeater mode), Power, and LAN connectivity. Each port has a collar and a cap that provide protection against the elements; the R300WN22MOD has an IP67 rating, which means it is completely dust resistant and resistant to water ingress when submerged in 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Each corner of the metal enclosure has a mounting hole for attaching it to a flat surface and it comes with a pole mounting kit. The R300WN22MOD uses the Atheros AR934 chipset and can support up to 32 802.11b/g/n wireless clients. Security comes by way of Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) encryption.

As with the 5GHz Startech R300WN22MOD5, the R300WN22MOD's user interface (UI) offers plenty of useful settings, but to access it for the first time, you have to temporarily re-configure your wireless device's IP address, which makes things more complicated than they need to be (more on this later). Moreover, the included User Guide is woefully lacking; it offers basic setup instructions, but does not cover things like LAN setup, management options, Quality of Service (QoS), or advanced wireless settings.

Once you've accessed the UI, you can chose among four operating modes: Wireless AP; Wireless Distribution System (WDS); Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) Bridge and Repeater; and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) WISP Bridge and Repeater. WDS mode allows you to use the R300WN22MOD to expand wireless coverage using other WDS access points, and both WISP modes let you use it as a bridge between two existing LAN segments.

The interface also has a Setup wizard to help you configure your SSID, security, and channel settings, and there's a LAN setup page for static or dynamic IP addressing and assigning a specific DNS address. Other pages include Virtual LAN (VLAN) configurations, Management options that allow you to change administrator and user passwords, and Advanced Wireless settings, such as beacon interval and Request to Send (RTS) threshold. The QoS page lets you assign traffic priority to specific IP addresses, and the Time Policy page lets you create rules that limit network access to specific hours of the day and specific days of the week.

Installation and Performance
Installing the R300WN22MOD is easy enough, but setting it up for the first time requires some device tweaking. First, connect the PoE injector to your router using an Ethernet cable (which is not included) and to the R300WN22MOD using a second Ethernet cable (also not included). Depending on where you place the AP, this will require a lengthy cable, but should not exceed 328 feet. Attach the power adapter to the injector and power up the AP.

Here's where things get dicey; in order to access the user interface, you have change the IP address of your device, in my case a laptop, to 192.168.2.x (x can be any number between 2 and 253). Since most Wi-Fi routers use the 192.168.1.x format, this required going into my laptop's Wi-Fi properties, selecting Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and changing the configuration from Obtain an IP Address Automatically to Use the Following IP Address. Once you apply this setting, you'll want to minimize the settings box because you'll have to reset it back to Obtain an IP Address Automatically once you've set up the R300WN22MOD. Fortunately, you only have to do this once.

With my laptop set to its new IP address, I entered 192.168.2.254 in my browser to access the user interface. I reset the R300WN22MOD's IP address to coincide with my network (192.168.1.x), set the device to AP mode, and saved my settings. Then I went back to my laptop's Wi-Fi settings and reset it to its original configuration.

For my testing, I didn't use the pole mounting kit; instead, I mounted the R300WN22MOD to a wood panel on the front of my house approximately 8 feet above ground level. I ran my usual Jperf throughput test while standing 5 feet from the R300WN22MOD and measured an average throughput speed of 65.3Mbps. To put it in perspective, we saw similar indoor throughput from the Asus RT AC66u (68.5Mbps) and the Amped TAP-R2 (56.3Mbps), while the Amped RTA15 delivered 116Mbps, and the D-Link DIR-880L delivered 93.7Mbps. I brought the Startech AP inside and tested it the same way I test indoor routers, and it delivered 66.2Mbps at a distance of 5 feet.

The R300WN22MOD delivered 60.1Mbps at a distance of 30 feet (outdoors, with no obstructions), besting the indoor scores of the Asus RT AC66u (51.3Mbps) and the Linksys EA9200 (53.2Mbps), but trailing the Asus RT AC68u (81.9 Mbps) and the Amped RTA15 (85 Mbps). The Startech's indoor throughput at 30 feet was significantly slower in testing; it managed only 15.6Mbps. However, its outdoor range remained solid at 50 feet (50.2Mbps), 75 feet (44Mbps), and 100 feet (41Mbps).

Conclusion
With the Startech 2.4GHz Outdoor Wireless-N Access Point (R300WN22MOD), you can create a secure outdoor wireless network or use it as a bridge for existing networks. Its rugged housing can stand up to the most extreme weather conditions and it delivers very good range performance in open outdoor areas. The initial setup process is somewhat convoluted, but once you're up and running, you can configure QoS priorities, assign time restrictions, and set up a virtual LAN. You'll have to make sure you know what you're doing, as the documentation offers very little help beyond the basic setup process. Moreover, while it's about $30 less expensive than its 5GHz counterpart, it's fairly pricey for an access point that only operates on the 2.4GHz band.

About the Author

As a Contributing Editor for PCMag, John Delaney has been testing and reviewing monitors, TVs, PCs, networking and smart home gear, and other assorted hardware and peripherals for almost 20 years. A 13-year veteran of PC Magazine's Labs (most recently as Director of Operations), John was responsible for the recruitment, training and management of t... See Full Bio

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